leahsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
CONTENT WARNING: mention of death, grief, blood, trauma, mention of suicide, anxiety, abuse, murder, self-harm, mention of rape, violence
Recently, I came across a bookstagrammer who described a book as slow/fast — a book that starts out slow and gets fast after a while. And it was the perfect way to describe this book. I was so hyped to read this, although it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting.
It’s set in the 1920s, but in an alternate version, one where magic is real … and prohibited. But when Annie’s father dies, a man that she barely knew at all, and he leaves his estate to her, she heads to Crow Island. A place rooted in magic and danger, and one where her estranged best friend moved to. She came to go through her father’s house and belongings, and hopefully reunite with her friend. But of course, nothing goes as expected.
“The law was explicit: the consumption of real magic, in any form, but especially mixed with other state-altering substances, was strictly prohibited.”
Annie finds herself staying in a cottage next to an alluring house, which turns out to be home to a few witches who love to party. And the POV switches between Annie and Emmeline, one of the witches next door, along with some excerpts from a journal interspersed between sections. Emmeline is an out and proud lesbian, who dresses in men’s clothes and predictably, doesn’t care much for societal standards. But there’s darkness in her past and occurring presently, which takes a while to be revealed. Emmeline hosts wild parties and sells her magic, with caveats.
“There were only two rules: if anybody official asked, the magic wasn’t real; and if the spell didn’t work, if the unfaithful lover grew too attentive, too possessive of a client after they applied my charm, or if their newfound wealth seemed to cause them nothing but strife, they could not say I hadn’t warned them.”
The story starts out slow for the first 40%, offering a chance to get to know the characters and build some mystery around what is going on in each of their lives, both in the past and as their lives become twined together. But after that, things speed up a whole lot. And while there is a lot of action, especially in the last part of the book, there’s also a ton of character growth for Annie throughout. I loved seeing her go from being a shy, quiet, meek girl to someone who is more confident and able to speak up for herself and what she wants.
“Living with my mother, losing Sam: both had made me small-minded, turned me into a mouse, quiet and obedient and lonely and sad, when all I wanted was to be more. I wanted to be adventurous. I wanted to be bold.”
This was a great story, but there are some significant trigger warnings involved. Since much of the magic relies on blood, some of the characters self-harm in order to draw blood, even though it isn’t in There’s also significant mention of violence and abuse, and while it never felt glorified, it was tough to read about at times. However, it was still a great story that I thoroughly enjoyed. There were some plot twists, and I definitely figured out one of them in advance, but there were still some surprises even after that. And it was totally worth the wait to get to them.
CONTENT WARNING: mention of death, grief, blood, trauma, mention of suicide, anxiety, abuse, murder, self-harm, mention of rape, violence
Recently, I came across a bookstagrammer who described a book as slow/fast — a book that starts out slow and gets fast after a while. And it was the perfect way to describe this book. I was so hyped to read this, although it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting.
It’s set in the 1920s, but in an alternate version, one where magic is real … and prohibited. But when Annie’s father dies, a man that she barely knew at all, and he leaves his estate to her, she heads to Crow Island. A place rooted in magic and danger, and one where her estranged best friend moved to. She came to go through her father’s house and belongings, and hopefully reunite with her friend. But of course, nothing goes as expected.
“The law was explicit: the consumption of real magic, in any form, but especially mixed with other state-altering substances, was strictly prohibited.”
Annie finds herself staying in a cottage next to an alluring house, which turns out to be home to a few witches who love to party. And the POV switches between Annie and Emmeline, one of the witches next door, along with some excerpts from a journal interspersed between sections. Emmeline is an out and proud lesbian, who dresses in men’s clothes and predictably, doesn’t care much for societal standards. But there’s darkness in her past and occurring presently, which takes a while to be revealed. Emmeline hosts wild parties and sells her magic, with caveats.
“There were only two rules: if anybody official asked, the magic wasn’t real; and if the spell didn’t work, if the unfaithful lover grew too attentive, too possessive of a client after they applied my charm, or if their newfound wealth seemed to cause them nothing but strife, they could not say I hadn’t warned them.”
The story starts out slow for the first 40%, offering a chance to get to know the characters and build some mystery around what is going on in each of their lives, both in the past and as their lives become twined together. But after that, things speed up a whole lot. And while there is a lot of action, especially in the last part of the book, there’s also a ton of character growth for Annie throughout. I loved seeing her go from being a shy, quiet, meek girl to someone who is more confident and able to speak up for herself and what she wants.
“Living with my mother, losing Sam: both had made me small-minded, turned me into a mouse, quiet and obedient and lonely and sad, when all I wanted was to be more. I wanted to be adventurous. I wanted to be bold.”
This was a great story, but there are some significant trigger warnings involved. Since much of the magic relies on blood, some of the characters self-harm in order to draw blood, even though it isn’t in There’s also significant mention of violence and abuse, and while it never felt glorified, it was tough to read about at times. However, it was still a great story that I thoroughly enjoyed. There were some plot twists, and I definitely figured out one of them in advance, but there were still some surprises even after that. And it was totally worth the wait to get to them.
slvernon's review against another edition
3.0
* 3.5 stars.
In theory I should have loved this, a book that is: witchy, gothic, sapphic and Gatsby-inspired, which essentially sounds like all of my interests have been put into a blender and poured out into words. The writing itself is beautiful, crackling with magic and moody atmosphere, however I didn't quite connect with some of the characters, who felt more like part of the gorgeously gloomy scenery than real people, and the romance being so slow-burn that it was more of a flicker I found myself struggling to care about--and I always care about gay witches.
(Many thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for the eARC.)
In theory I should have loved this, a book that is: witchy, gothic, sapphic and Gatsby-inspired, which essentially sounds like all of my interests have been put into a blender and poured out into words. The writing itself is beautiful, crackling with magic and moody atmosphere, however I didn't quite connect with some of the characters, who felt more like part of the gorgeously gloomy scenery than real people, and the romance being so slow-burn that it was more of a flicker I found myself struggling to care about--and I always care about gay witches.
(Many thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for the eARC.)
lkndreams's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
libraryvampyr's review
3.0
I accidentally put this baby down and got busy reading a whole lot of nothing. I found this book to be haunting the corners of my mind from time to time, I feel like it had great potential but it held its secrets a little too close to the chest and didn't let the reader in like Emmeline would not let Annie in. I am a huge sucker for a found family trope especially if it has some lgbt elements thrown in.
I have seen it compared to the Great Gatsby and I must say that while I can get behind that comparison I feel like people only took the tropes of it and stuck it into this niche but it feels very much like making it conform to this idea.
Emmeline was such a unique and fun character (who doesn't love a messy sapphic?) but I think her story would have done so much better if it was its own novella or own novel itself. All the ideas that Francesca May brought into the story were so well done but I feel like it was a tiny bit rushed or just compacted to fit one book.
I have seen it compared to the Great Gatsby and I must say that while I can get behind that comparison I feel like people only took the tropes of it and stuck it into this niche but it feels very much like making it conform to this idea.
Emmeline was such a unique and fun character (who doesn't love a messy sapphic?) but I think her story would have done so much better if it was its own novella or own novel itself. All the ideas that Francesca May brought into the story were so well done but I feel like it was a tiny bit rushed or just compacted to fit one book.
pinkstarreads's review
3.0
This was a very Gatsby inspired and feeling witchy story. Set on a crescent moon island of the coast of Whitby England where magic still lingers after being made illegal following World War 1.
Written from 2 characters points of view switching between characters, it was done well that you could easily know who you were reading about.
The book was written beautifully with lyrical descriptions, I loved the setting and the alluring yet dangerous feel toward magic.
I enjoyed the characters and the mc development through-out the story, but felt it was a little predictable and I didn't feel as emotionally invested in the relationships as much as I would have liked.
Still a great story and one I am glad to have read.
Thank you to netgalley for the ARC copy.
Written from 2 characters points of view switching between characters, it was done well that you could easily know who you were reading about.
The book was written beautifully with lyrical descriptions, I loved the setting and the alluring yet dangerous feel toward magic.
I enjoyed the characters and the mc development through-out the story, but felt it was a little predictable and I didn't feel as emotionally invested in the relationships as much as I would have liked.
Still a great story and one I am glad to have read.
Thank you to netgalley for the ARC copy.
ashleighbookworm's review
Too slow paced, didn’t grip me into wanting to know the end.
jade_readsbooks's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
jade_courtney's review against another edition
4.0
I struggled with this at first but ended up really enjoying it. I loved this world and setting and wanted to stay there as long as possible.
awreading's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5